Self-published author sells 50,000 books after winning literary prize
‘Often the arts are perceived to be on a pedestal, out of reach and little more than a dream for the average person’
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Your support makes all the difference.A self-published author has sold more than 50,000 copies of his book after winning a literary prize.
David Leadbeater thought he had struck gold when his archaeological thriller, The Relic Hunters, landed a £20,000 award in 2017.
His novel went on to become a top-ten selling Kindle book and an Australian number one in its first year.
Mr Leadbeater was joined by contemporary fiction writer Hannah Lynn who picked up the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award last year.
Ms Lynn has since published three further novels since her book, The Afterlife of Walter Augustus, landed the award less than a year ago.
Now Amazon is calling on the nation’s budding authors to enter the third UK Kindle Storyteller Award.
Winners will be awarded a £20,000 cash prize, a marketing campaign to support the book on the e-commerce platform and the opportunity to have their book translated into other languages.
Finalists could see their work made into an audiovisual production with Amazon Studios for Prime Video.
The finalists and winning titles from all six Kindle literary awards around the world will be evaluated, with one story selected for an audiovisual option based on several criteria such as creativity, originality, and boldness of storytelling.
Renowned journalist, presenter and passionate book reader, Mariella Frostrup, will be part of the judging panel, along with last year’s winner Ms Lynn and other leading figures in the publishing industry.
Ms Frostrup said: “I’m incredibly proud to be a part of an endeavour that champions, at its heart, open access to the literary world.
“Often the arts are perceived to be on a pedestal, out of reach and little more than a dream for the average person.
“With this award and Kindle Direct Publishing writers, both new and established, have the opportunity to tell their story and have it read by millions.”
Candice-Carty Williams, first-time author of Queenie also voiced her support of the award, adding: “The amount of writing talent in the world is limitless, but for many authors, the barrier is getting your story in front of the right people.
“The Kindle Storyteller Award gives all authors, experience, gender or background aside, the opportunity to have their work seen and enjoyed by readers around the world.
“If you have a story in you, fiction or non-fiction, you’ve got to enter.”
SWNS
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